From Carlos Reygadas to Hamaguchi’s Cinematographer, Tokyo’s Nippon Cinema Now Directors on Unexpected Connections — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Ueda Shinichiro said “Earthlings in Love” began as a 30-episode microdrama series designed for social media, retained a vertical format for theatrical release and carried a budget equivalent to a regular independent film.
- Saito Kisin said his debut “Kefi” began with a sponsor’s “maternal love, being a mother” theme, but the sponsor later let the filmmakers make it as they wished; the finished film follows three sisters after their father’s death.
- Natori Satoshi said his former hunting work shaped “Chihiro | Akemi,” whose feature-film Grand Prix at Split Film Festival in Croatia led to a meeting with Carlos Reygadas and his interest in a possible Japan-Mexico collaboration for Natori’s next film.
- Matsumura Shingo said he had broad freedom over the concepts in “Between Us,” a feature focused on theater and the overlap between theater and reality.
- Yaza Takenoshin said his direct message to Kitagawa Yoshio, known for Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s work, led to an offer to shoot “Hinotama: Ball of Fire” and an introduction to a producer who approached financiers; it was his first feature and first film set.
Why it matters: For the five Nippon Cinema Now filmmakers, the panel documents concrete routes to creative control: Saito Kisin received latitude from a sponsor, while Yaza Takenoshin used one direct message to Kitagawa Yoshio to secure a cinematographer and a producer who approached financiers. For Yaza, those links opened his first film set despite no prior feature or set experience.
Ask SkimNews
